Putting a painful past to use

COURTESY PHOTO
George Huffman will be recognized as the President's Distinguished Scholar Award recipient Friday at Pueblo Community College's graduation ceremony.

by anthony a. mestas
the pueblo chieftain

Published: May 8, 2014;Last modified: May 19, 2014 11:15AM

George Huffman has seen how substance abuse can destroy a family.

The 48-year-old Pueblo Community College honor student recalled Wednesday how destructive his father was when he was growing up in Massachusetts and how he and his family escaped to Cotopaxi to restart their lives.

“He nearly killed me a few times. He did atrocities to my mother and sister that I don’t even want to talk about,” Huffman said, pausing between words.

But it was his dark experiences as a kid and abusing alcohol himself as an adult that have helped lead him to where he is today.